EVACUATE the town and run for cover, the martians are coming back to finish off Woking for good – courtesy of a Horsell graphic designer.

The moment that the infamous tripods landed on Horsell Common in HG Wells’ sci-fi classic The War of the Worlds is to be lovingly recreated by a fan and long-time Horsell resident.

Richard Knotek, 42, originally created a video version of the novel to accompany the famous musical album more than two years ago but it was taken down from YouTube amid copyright fears.

Jeff Wayne’s musical creation of The War of the Worlds is a 1978 concept album that features rock and string orchestras to retell the story with rhyming lyrics and narration.

Now Richard is stripping away the audio and Jeff Wayne’s alien design and replacing it with an original score and newly designed martian.

The project started after making a short two-minute clip almost three years ago and following such a positive reaction he knew it was worth investing the time to remake the entire album.

With the town centre currently a building site he is working hard to make sure when he releases it, expected to be the middle of September, it is as accurate as possible with other updates from the original version.

Ensuring that Woking gets the proper recognition and makes the most of the HG Wells’ connection is something Richard is extremely focused on.

While the town has a conference and events centre named after the author, a mural in the Victoria Way subway and a statue of the tripod, Richard thinks more could be done.

Richard cited Whitby as the perfect example to follow. The Yorkshire coastal town was the original setting for Dracula in Bram Stoker’s novel but has been long forgotten by Hollywood remakes, much like the Tom Cruise adaptation of War of the Worlds.

However Richard said there are gift shops and other reminders that point to a major part of the town’s cultural history, unlike in Woking.

He told the Surrey Advertiser: “I have lived in Woking all my life and have always said it is a great story and it has been spoilt by the American versions.

“It seems a shame because it [the Horsell landing] is such a famous section. In Woking it seems to be hidden, we are a bit embarrassed about it but I think Woking needs it at the moment.

“At the end of the day it is fun and that is what the town needs. Woking never gets any credit but I have had thousands of emails from people all over the world. People could travel to Woking to go to the statue and HG Wells’ Maybury house.

“The Lightbox would be a nice place to have an exhibition and you could even have a War of the Worlds laser quest.”

The finished piece will be uploaded to YouTube on his channel. Follow his progress on www.thewaroftheworlds-woking.com.